I mean come on…

by Tommy Dee on February 28th, 2009 at 11:10 am

So this passes for a blog post these days…

I apologize for anyone tired of the Steph stuff, but this was too infuriating not to post.

“…New York and Boston were linked again through the sports world tonight in what was a Tale of Two Cities and Two Gardens.

Stephon Marbury gets a standing ovation upon checking in for the first time as a Celtic late in the first quarter at the new Boston Garden. The Knicks get booed as they fall behind by 29-11 after one quarter at Madison Square Garden.

Marbury goes on to spur the Celtics to victory, remarkably, with a fourth-quarter splurge. He finished making 4 of 6 shots, jumpers and drives, after not playing a regular-season game in nearly 14 months. Even Marbury’s detractors have to tip their hat off to the Celtics’ new No. 8, doing what he did without a practice. He hasn’t even played pickup games in L.A. because of contract insurance concerns. It should work out as long as Marbury never forgets his role.

During his pregame gathering with the media, D’Antoni made an eyebrow-raising remark.
He was asked about what Marbury can bring to the Celtics. “A guy that talented coming off the bench, it’s not a bad chance to take,” D’Antoni replied.

The irony hung thick in the air. D’Antoni, guiding a moribund franchise, was not willing to take that chance at the beginning of the regular season. The defending champion Celtics were.

Marbury’s arrival onto the Celtic scene comes just as Chris Duhon, his successor, is hitting the wall because of all the minutes he had to play with Marbury banished. Duhon made it four straight lousy games in Friday night’s loss to the Sixers, who swept the season series handily. Duhon committed four turnovers in a short stretch of the first quarter – a sure sign of mental fatique.

The Knicks fell 10 games below .500 – tied for their season-worst – and 3½ games behind the eighth seed. If they don’t get it right soon, with a bunch of road games on tap this month, they could soon fall out of the playoff race…”

Still jaded Marc? Geez, I wonder if Steph has the juice to get you a job at the Boston Globe. Probably not.

I mean did anyone REALLY watch this game. The Celts were kind of sloppy, Rondo had 17 assists, Ray Allen went for 30 and, oh by the way, the combination of Marbury, Mikki Moore and Eddie “fire when ready” House were a -21. I know, no KG, but still…

A D’Antoni/Steph counter? Ugh…Can we move on?

I would offer this. Steph HAS to win a title in Boston. If the Celtics somehow lose with a healthy squad, many fans will point to Marbury’s losing rep and those cheers will turn to boos. Fair or unfair, it’s what’s going to happen.

That’ s a lotta pressure on Steph. Let’s see if he can handle it.

Nothing else to say about it. The Era is OVER.
  • gbaked

    Tired of this… I am saying goodbye right now…

    Stephon Marbury came to his hometown and was a pure embarrassment. He played the kind of basketball that we all know wont win a game. All about ME.

    I am no statistician, and I dont really know the x’s and o’s of basketball… but it was clear that Steph was not helping the situation. On top of that, he was someone that made it very tough to root for. Insane rambling interviews, me first statements… it was just silly.

    When he took off after the famous Airline incident, to me… he was done. I mean, who abandons his team. Even if the coach says, “yeah… go if you want…” who actually goes? I mean.. cry me a river.

    This was a guy that had the entire city of NY behind him. We all wanted him to do well. And he basically rubbed our good wishes in our face.

    I think the banishment of Steph was one of the most deserved and ballsy move by a sports team front office I have seen in a long time.

    If in Boston he turns it around, a good chunk of the credit should go to Walsh and Coach D… for probably being the first people to ever not give Steph whatever he wanted.

    I dont wish the guy any ill will or want to see him fall flat on his face. I hope that this past event has helped a fellow NY’er turn the corner and stand as a testament to all the other me first players out there that teamwork is the only way to win in this game. Maybe kids out in Coney Island and other inner city areas start working on passing the ball instead of dunking a little because they see that selfish play gets you banished to the stands, and working on a team gets you praise.

    I cant stand Boston sports. It kills me that of all the fan bases he could go play for he goes there. However, I respect them (unlike Philly… where if he would have went there and succeeded I may have had to stop watching basketball forever).

    So good luck Steph. I love the underdog and love a comeback story. However, dont think that you didnt deserve what you got here. This is NYC. We dont care enough about you for it to be personal… we just want things done right. You did wrong, and you got what you deserved. With that… we all deserve 2nd chances. Dont drop the ball on yours.

  • http://theKnicksBlog.com Tommy Dee

    Well said…

  • joeyballz

    I love the Post readers comments sections. They absolutely rip apart Berman, who I think feeds off fans frustrations to call him out for his Marbury posts. He knows the fans will read them, become disgusted, post a comment to rip him, and then Berman will post another article again to keep em coming. He uses it to his distinct advantage to get people to read his blog, which never has anything news breaking or newsworthy that we cant pick up somewhere else.

  • TrentMotherTucker

    You’re talking bout the NY POST right? The same newspaper that tends to see more floor time on NY subways than vomit and urine.

    I don’t despise Starberman or Starbury since I find there Brokeback Mountain relationship to be quite humorous. It’s an angle that has served his blog well.

    The hatred for Starbury is unreal. The guy is a first class tool but Zeke did more damage to the Knicks than Steph ever did and he too is getting paid.